Schildesche: 1678-1781
It is in the small, rural village of Schildesche, in the ancient County of Ravensburg (one of the dominions of the House of Brandenburg), in the ponderous Holy Roman Empire, that our history of the Landwehr family begins.
The Evangelical Lutheran parish records for Schildesche date back nearly 320 years, to the year 1668. The first record of our Landwehr family can be found in the pages of those early registers, in the year 1678. For it was in June of 1678 that a male child was baptized Jacob, son of Hermann bei der Landwehr. We have located baptismal records of two other infants born in 1672 and 1674 who we believe were also children of Hermann bei der Landwehr. Therefore, we can speculate that Hermann was probably born about the time that the Thirty Years War ended in 1648. The Mayflower had only arrived in the American colonies in 1620, and the first shot of the American Revolution would not be fired until 1775.
Until further research can be conducted, we must be content with this scant knowledge of our earliest ancestor. For those readers who wonder about their relationship to Hermann bei der Landwehr, we can state that Hermann was the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather of the author, and of other readers who are also great-grandchildren of one of the five immigrant Landwehr children.
We know that there were very few Landwehrs in Schildesche at that early date, and Hermann's may have been the sole Landwehr family. The burial registers of the Evangelical Lutheran church at Schildesche contain a record of the death, in May of 1729, of "der alte Landwehrman" (the old Landwehr man). This decedant may have been our ancestor, Hermann bei der Landwehr.
In 1701, only twenty-three years after the birth of Jacob bei der Landwehr, Frederick I took the title of king, and his entire state became known as the Kingdom of Prussia. Another rent was made in the old fabric of the Holy Empire. But with the exception of Savoy in Italy, the new kingdom of Prussia was still the most insignificant kingdom in Europe. Prussia would continue to grow in influence and territory throughout the eighteenth century. While the majority of the additional acquisitions would be east of Berlin, several states in the western part of the Holy Roman Empire would also be acquired.
The Evangelical Lutheran parish records for Schildesche date back nearly 320 years, to the year 1668. The first record of our Landwehr family can be found in the pages of those early registers, in the year 1678. For it was in June of 1678 that a male child was baptized Jacob, son of Hermann bei der Landwehr. We have located baptismal records of two other infants born in 1672 and 1674 who we believe were also children of Hermann bei der Landwehr. Therefore, we can speculate that Hermann was probably born about the time that the Thirty Years War ended in 1648. The Mayflower had only arrived in the American colonies in 1620, and the first shot of the American Revolution would not be fired until 1775.
Until further research can be conducted, we must be content with this scant knowledge of our earliest ancestor. For those readers who wonder about their relationship to Hermann bei der Landwehr, we can state that Hermann was the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather of the author, and of other readers who are also great-grandchildren of one of the five immigrant Landwehr children.
We know that there were very few Landwehrs in Schildesche at that early date, and Hermann's may have been the sole Landwehr family. The burial registers of the Evangelical Lutheran church at Schildesche contain a record of the death, in May of 1729, of "der alte Landwehrman" (the old Landwehr man). This decedant may have been our ancestor, Hermann bei der Landwehr.
In 1701, only twenty-three years after the birth of Jacob bei der Landwehr, Frederick I took the title of king, and his entire state became known as the Kingdom of Prussia. Another rent was made in the old fabric of the Holy Empire. But with the exception of Savoy in Italy, the new kingdom of Prussia was still the most insignificant kingdom in Europe. Prussia would continue to grow in influence and territory throughout the eighteenth century. While the majority of the additional acquisitions would be east of Berlin, several states in the western part of the Holy Roman Empire would also be acquired.
On the 16th of October, 1718, forty-year-old Jacob Wilhelm Landwehr, the son of Hermann bei der Landwehr, and a 24-year-old woman named Anna Catrina Mey were married at "alten Schilcken" (old Schildesche), the area where both of them lived (for a chart of our German ancestry, see Figure 3 and Figure 4). Anna Catrina Mey had been baptized on July 7, 1694, in the village of Kirchdornberg, located five miles west of Schildesche.
While their marriage may have been of little significance outside their neighborhood at the time, it is of greater significance to us today. The one-line record of their marriage, entered into the marriage register of the Evangelical Lutheran church in Schildesche, is the earliest marriage record we have found for our Landwehr family (see Figure 5).
Jacob Landwehr's home village of Schildesche sat in the foothills, below the magnificent Teutoburg Forest. These wooded, spruce-covered ridges extended for miles along the western edge of the County of Ravensburg, seeming to form a natural barrier between Jacob's homeland and the nation of France. Above these quiet streets, with their gabled and half-timbered houses, the high Hunenberg peak stood its silent guard, seeming to promise that never again would a foreign enemy be permitted to trample these peaceful lands. While to the east, romantic hills of beech forest, interspersed by rippling streams, stretched away toward the River Weser and the Prussian landscape beyond.
For over one hundred years, Ravensburg had been part of the Hohenzollern holdings now known as the Kingdom of Prussia. As a firmly Protestant state, protection by the Protestant armies of Prussia was one of the benefits of belonging to the Hohenzollern Dynasty.
The newly wed couple, Jacob Wilhelm and Anna Catrina, made their home in Schildesche, and began raising a family. In March of 1720, less than eighteen months after their marriage, the registers of the Lutheran Evangelical Church at Schildesche record the baptism of Casper Heinrich, son of Jacob Landwehr. The infant's godparent was Casper Ferntrup, a resident of Kirchdornberg, the home village of the infant's mother. See Figure 2 for the locations of Schildesche (location #1) and Kirchdornberg (location #3).
For over one hundred years, Ravensburg had been part of the Hohenzollern holdings now known as the Kingdom of Prussia. As a firmly Protestant state, protection by the Protestant armies of Prussia was one of the benefits of belonging to the Hohenzollern Dynasty.
The newly wed couple, Jacob Wilhelm and Anna Catrina, made their home in Schildesche, and began raising a family. In March of 1720, less than eighteen months after their marriage, the registers of the Lutheran Evangelical Church at Schildesche record the baptism of Casper Heinrich, son of Jacob Landwehr. The infant's godparent was Casper Ferntrup, a resident of Kirchdornberg, the home village of the infant's mother. See Figure 2 for the locations of Schildesche (location #1) and Kirchdornberg (location #3).
Casper Heinrich Landwehr grew to manhood in a Prussian state that was continuing to look for opportunities to expand its borders. Frederick the Great became King of Prussia in 1740, when Casper Heinrich Landwehr was twenty years old. Frederick the Great quickly seized Silesia, a rich province of Austria. This invasion led to two wars, the first of which was the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748).
It was during the latter years of this war, on July 1, 1747, that 27-year-old Casper Heinrich Landwehr married 22-year-old Anna Catharina Ilsabein Wellhoener, daughter of Johann Wilhelm Wellhoener. They were married in Schildesche, where Casper was born in 1720, and where Anna was born in 1725.
The fourth generation of our Landwehr ancestors was born eight years later. On February 7, 1755, Casper Heinrich Landwehr and Anna Catharina Ilsabein Wellhoener became parents of a son, who was baptized Casper Heinrich (apparently after his father) in the Lutheran Evangelical church at Schildesche two days after his birth. The godparent was Johann Heinrich Landwehr. It is interesting to note that Casper Heinrich Landwehr (the father) was listed in the baptismal record as a "free man". While this reference provides no evidence regarding how long our Landwehr family had been free of the shackles of serfdom, it does establish that they were free by 1755, and suggests that freedom was still not universal in that area.
The second of the wars precipitated by Prussia's invasion of Silesia began the year after Casper Henrich Landwehr's birth in 1755. This second war was the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). Many nations of Europe entered the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War. Some sided with Frederick, and others with his enemy, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. Under the final peace treaty, Silesia remained under Prussian rule. Prussia was now recognized as a great power equal to Austria. Prussia, along with Austria and Russia, began to seize parts of Poland in 1772.
Casper Heinrich Landwehr, our fourth generation ancestor, was married to Anna Maria Elisabeth Bitter, daughter of Anton Heinrich Bitter and Catharine Marie Castrups, on January 28, 1780. Their marriage apparently took place at Schildesche. Casper's age was listed as twenty-five years old (he was just ten days short of his 25th birthday), and the age of his bride was listed as twenty years old. According to his marriage record, Casper was a weaver by profession, but was also a "Musket from the Regiment von Petersdorff under the Company von Bretin". We also learn that the young couple planned to live at "Upmayers Kotten" in "Alten Schildesche" (old Schildesche).
The village of Schildesche was situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Bielefeld, which had been founded by the Count Hermann von Ravensberg in 1214. The Schildesche area had benefited from Prussian domination when King Frederick William I promoted the linen trade in Bielefeld. By the time of Casper's marriage, the linen industry had spread throughout the surrounding villages. Casper is the earliest ancestor who we can associate with this linen industry. His occupation as "weaver" was undoubtedly as a domestic worker; weaving linen at home in the evening, while during the day he toiled outside as a laborer in order to feed his family. The quality of the linen woven in the Bielefield area would become well-known, and the production of linen would become a key industry for the area.
Casper Heinrich and Anna Maria Elisabeth (Bitter) Landwehr did not remain long in the village of Schildesche after their marriage. Sometime between the date of birth of their first child in December of 1780, and the date of birth of their second child in May of 1782, they moved their family about three miles northwest to the village of Joellenbeck. It would be the last move that our Landwehr family would make before their migration to America.
It was during the latter years of this war, on July 1, 1747, that 27-year-old Casper Heinrich Landwehr married 22-year-old Anna Catharina Ilsabein Wellhoener, daughter of Johann Wilhelm Wellhoener. They were married in Schildesche, where Casper was born in 1720, and where Anna was born in 1725.
The fourth generation of our Landwehr ancestors was born eight years later. On February 7, 1755, Casper Heinrich Landwehr and Anna Catharina Ilsabein Wellhoener became parents of a son, who was baptized Casper Heinrich (apparently after his father) in the Lutheran Evangelical church at Schildesche two days after his birth. The godparent was Johann Heinrich Landwehr. It is interesting to note that Casper Heinrich Landwehr (the father) was listed in the baptismal record as a "free man". While this reference provides no evidence regarding how long our Landwehr family had been free of the shackles of serfdom, it does establish that they were free by 1755, and suggests that freedom was still not universal in that area.
The second of the wars precipitated by Prussia's invasion of Silesia began the year after Casper Henrich Landwehr's birth in 1755. This second war was the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). Many nations of Europe entered the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War. Some sided with Frederick, and others with his enemy, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. Under the final peace treaty, Silesia remained under Prussian rule. Prussia was now recognized as a great power equal to Austria. Prussia, along with Austria and Russia, began to seize parts of Poland in 1772.
Casper Heinrich Landwehr, our fourth generation ancestor, was married to Anna Maria Elisabeth Bitter, daughter of Anton Heinrich Bitter and Catharine Marie Castrups, on January 28, 1780. Their marriage apparently took place at Schildesche. Casper's age was listed as twenty-five years old (he was just ten days short of his 25th birthday), and the age of his bride was listed as twenty years old. According to his marriage record, Casper was a weaver by profession, but was also a "Musket from the Regiment von Petersdorff under the Company von Bretin". We also learn that the young couple planned to live at "Upmayers Kotten" in "Alten Schildesche" (old Schildesche).
The village of Schildesche was situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Bielefeld, which had been founded by the Count Hermann von Ravensberg in 1214. The Schildesche area had benefited from Prussian domination when King Frederick William I promoted the linen trade in Bielefeld. By the time of Casper's marriage, the linen industry had spread throughout the surrounding villages. Casper is the earliest ancestor who we can associate with this linen industry. His occupation as "weaver" was undoubtedly as a domestic worker; weaving linen at home in the evening, while during the day he toiled outside as a laborer in order to feed his family. The quality of the linen woven in the Bielefield area would become well-known, and the production of linen would become a key industry for the area.
Casper Heinrich and Anna Maria Elisabeth (Bitter) Landwehr did not remain long in the village of Schildesche after their marriage. Sometime between the date of birth of their first child in December of 1780, and the date of birth of their second child in May of 1782, they moved their family about three miles northwest to the village of Joellenbeck. It would be the last move that our Landwehr family would make before their migration to America.